Water Babies

Today the girls went swimming for the first time! What an experience. The "small" swim diaper was a little big but the girls looked as cute as ever in their matching neon swimsuits! Thanks to the warm temperatures of the Kiwanis Leisure Pool, the girls made an easy transition into the water. Molly was mostly stunned and Abigail began to fuss at first. A few minutes into the water both girls looked a little bewildered but began to enjoy themselves. A few dunks under the water and the girls were settled in. We almost had a few kicks and splashes and the girls really started to lay back into the water and enjoyed being pulled around. Loved the Family Change room so Shawn and I could get the girls ready together! Yet another Turkette adventure in the books.

We will definitely be returning for Toddler Time or Leisure Swim time!! Kiwanis Leisure Pool Times

And then it happened!

Abigail was on her back laying on her blanket hanging out while I fed Molly. I looked down at Abigail and wouldn't you believe it, she was on her tummy! Wow!! So proud of our little girl, another talent! :-)

Weekend Walking Warriors!

Wonderful weather on the weekend can only mean one thing, stroller time!! The past two days have been amazing spring weather. Each morning began with Shawn and I waking to hear the girls talking away in their cribs! (we believe to one another, haha) After feeding the girls and having a quick breakfast, we load the girls up in the stroller and head out into the neighbourhood. Both days we chose to walk to Starbucks for a tea and coffee. Once we meandered back to our street on Saturday we met our neighbour Brock and his twin daughters Olivia and Alexandra. The girls are a year and a month older than our girls! Our first question when we met him was "Does it get any easier???" It was awesome to see where our girls will be in the future.

 Even though the girls are sitting up right in their stroller now, we caught them falling asleep!

 On Sunday after returning to our neighbourhood we ran into Brock and his daughters again but this time with his wife and another neighbourhood family. The girls were super excited to meet some new friends! Plans are already in the works for a summer street party!

Looking forward to more sunny days and long walks!

More Fun for Babies or Parents?

The Jolly Jumper!! Quite possibly the funniest contraption I've put Molly and Abigail in yet! Not only is it hilarious to see them hang from our kitchen doorway, their faces are priceless as they attempt to figure out what they can do in an upright position.

Attempt #1 resulted in both girls basically hanging limp and smiling at us. Molly eventually began some slight knee bends and kicking her feet similar to an Irish Dancer. Attempt #2 was much more entertaining. As the girls hung side-by-side, Molly began jumping and twisting around. Abigail burst into a fit of giggles every time Molly turned or bounced around. While the girls may be enjoying exercising their legs and roaming this new territory of the house, my parents, Shawn and I are having quite the laugh watching them explore!

Jump up, jump up and get down!

Play Time: Let the fun begin!

At four months old, Molly and Abigail have reached a fun age where they are really starting to interact with us and their environment. Although they still don't interact a lot with each other, we've moved way beyond just smiling!

One of the first activities the girls and I did together was attend Baby and Mommy Yoga! Yoga by Sarah offers these classes each week and our instructor Angela welcomed using one of the Turkettes as a demo baby so I could attend with both girls! We were joined by our cousins Kate and baby Sophie, so much fun!!

Exhausted after our first yoga class!

The girls are now busy playing in exersaucers, sitting in their Bumbo chairs and using their hands to hold toys! The best part of all these activities is that the girls are now LAUGHING! Other than cooing, this is quite possibly the best sound I have ever heard!

 Practising being upright in our Go-Pod (Thanks Lori, Stef and the Arbours)

 Smiling in the Bumbo Chair

 Holding onto a toy

 Reading books (Thanks Nadine)

 Talking to Dad

 Going for long walks with Mommy

 Hanging out in our chairs (Thanks Auntie Jen)

 Relaxing in our swings (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa)

 Checking each other out.

 Looking at our flashcards (Thanks Beth)

 Playing in our exersaucers. (Thanks Nat)

Playing with the Moose.

One of the greatest things about some of our toys is that they are hand-me-downs from our friends! What a great way to recycle toys! We plan on passing our toys on to our friends' future kids!

From Teacher to Mom: How my Itinerant Arts position is helping me now!!!

The past two school years I have found myself in a new teaching position as an Itinerant Arts Teacher. Feeling I am more a teacher of students than a teacher of subjects, I had a hard time embracing my new role without my school or students. My biggest challenge was taking my Intermediate-Senior teaching style and tweaking it to be able to teach K-8 Drama and Dance. The first time I taught Kindergarten and sang the "Form A Circle" song, I couldn't help but laugh, thinking if only my Intermediate Colleagues could see me now!!

However, as Molly and Abigail become more alert and looking for interaction, my time as an Itinerant Arts Teacher is definitely coming in handy! I was reminded of all the great nursery rhymes and learned some great new songs to sing and play with my girls.

We spend a lot of time posing for pictures in this gliding chair, but we also sit here and sing songs together (okay, I do all of the singing, but they smile along!) Song currently in our repertoire include:

• I'm a Little Tea Pot
• BINGO
• Old McDonald Had a Farm (Molly's favourite)
• Black Socks
• Bubble Gum Song
• 5 Little Ducks
• Down By the Bay

Thanks to our friends Greg and Nic for the great Police onesies the girls are wearing above! Definitely one of our favourite onesies for the girls to wear!!!

Parenting Challenges I Never Thought Of

One of my first life lessons as a parent was the fact that my babies were a lot tougher than I gave them credit for. I spent the first few weeks very slowly and very gently doing things with the girls. Out of necessity I soon realized they could handle a lot more speedy diaper changes and weren't as fragile as I originally thought!

With that being said there are still TWO baby hygiene tasks that I am not fully confident and comfortable doing (my skill set is growing though!)

CUTTING THE TURKETTES' FINGER NAILS!!! This is never easy, never fun and it nearly broke my heart the first time I accidentally cut Abby's finger instead of her nail. Oh how she bled! Ever since then I only cut their nails when they've fallen asleep in the car seats after we've returned home from being out!

BATHING THE TURKETTES!! Slippery baby in a little baby tub is never enjoyable! I've finally gotten the hang of it, but yikes this was tricky the first two months. I actually watched a YouTube video on bathing your infant to make sure I was doing it right! LOL